#this was so fun to think about but also like 2 days worth of searching around fragrantica

[treycloverthirstclub]

Twst characters and perfume

But First! Fun facts related to fragrance:

Smell and memories are deeply linked. Scent and emotions are also deeply linked.

How you smell has an impact on if others see you as a stranger, family, or a potential partner ;)

Fragrances smell different depending on who wears it. Everyone has a skin chemistry that interacts uniquely with the scent molecules.

Headcanons by dorm:

Heartslabyul

Might have weird rules about fragrance, idk. Dorm smells faintly of roses, tea, and whatever's baking in the kitchen.

Riddle: Probably still follows a hygiene routine set by his mom.

Would wear/smell like: roses, tea, the library. Hermes Hermessence Rose Ikebana + Demeter Paperback

Would enjoy: fruit and gourmand fragrances, the things he couldn't have as a child :'(

Trey: Bakes things so often he semi-permanently smells like cake. Makes people hungry just by walking by.

Would wear/smell like: freshly baked cookies or bakery- sugar, butter, and vanilla. Les Senteurs Gourmandes Vanille De La Réunion

Would enjoy: gourmand scents and florals, especially violet. Van Cleef & Arpels Orchidee Vanille

Cater: Vague interest based on whats trending on Magicam, but also just in it for the pretty bottles (same). Not sure if his dislike of sweets extends to smell?

Would wear/smell like: any nice soap and hand cream with fancy packaging. Also anything trendy, like Le Labo Rose 31

Would enjoy: not sweet scents? Mint, pepper, spicy colognes

Deuce: Keeps clean, but probably isn't picky about what he smells like.

Would wear/smell like: Axe/Old Spice? Soap/aftershave, sometimes metal and motor oil. Comme des Garcons Serpentine

Would enjoy: new car/Magicwheel smell, whatever reminds him of his mom :')

Ace: Probably does not care much but gets used bottles/recommendations from his brother (chicks dig this cologne, dude!)

Would wear/smell like: Axe/Old Spice lol. Whatever's popular.. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

Would enjoy: hmm not sure. Fruit fragrances, cherry?

Savannaclaw

Since they're beastmen they would likely not enjoy strong scents, and have preferences based on animal species. Dorm smells like dry hay, woods, eucalyptus.

Leona: Has straight up sniffed people and will do it again. Might comment on others smelling bad but wouldn't care about himself. Probably has a lot of unopened bottles, sent to him by family and the royal perfumers.

Would wear/smell like: warm fur, leather, animalics. Amouage Overture Man/ Bvlgari Man in Black

Would enjoy: Calvin Klein Obsession. Whatever suits his lion fancy, idk?

Ruggie: Would balk at the thought of buying perfume. Who cares as long as you're clean?

Would wear/smell like: warm fur, grass, the Good laundry detergent (courtesy of Leona). Demeter Kitten Fur :3

Would enjoy: gourmand fragrances, might make him hungry though.

Jack: Doesn't care about himself, as long as he’s clean. Sensitive to ambient smells, as per his vignette.

Would wear/smell like: warm fur, animalics. Also probably the gym but shhh

Would enjoy: forest scent- pine trees smells like home. Also pears. Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles

Octavinelle

I wonder if their sense of smell changes based on if they're transformed? Did the air smell different when they first came on land? Does the ocean smell like home? Many questions here. Dorm smells cool and clean - water, cucumber, calones, ex. Zoologist Seahorse.

Azul: Likely has different perfumes based on occasion and audience, and knows the psychological effects of scent as a marketing tactic. Usually goes for iconic, recognizable scents with an established brand (like Chanel).

Would wear/smell like: ink, books, and tea from the long hours of studying. Alkemia Book of Shadows

Would enjoy: tbh not sure, gourmand scents?

Jade: Aware of fragrance mostly through tea. Not sure if he would personally be interested.

Would wear/smell like: moss and teas, due to the terrarium and tea hobbies. Creed Silver Mountain Water

Would enjoy: tea, forest/mountain scents. Definitely Demeter Mushroom

Floyd: Generally unpredictable, doesn't care until he does lol. Will also straight up sniff you and comment on it

Would wear/smell like: Axe/Old Spice just to annoy Azul. Sprays something just to wash it off 10 minutes later.

Would enjoy: whatever strikes his fancy at the moment. I think something from Etat Libre d'Orange would keep him entertained.

Scarabia

Room fragrance delivered monthly, courtesy of Al-Asim family. Dorm smells like spices, oud, and clay.

Kalim: Family has many dedicated advisors and perfumers. May prefer strong, intense fragrances.

Would wear/smell like: cashmere, warm spices, amber. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540

Would enjoy: coconut, scents that remind him of parties and vacations. Paco Rabanne 1 Million Parfum

Jamil: Keeps clean but generally indifferent. Smells faintly like whatever Kalim is wearing.

Would wear/smell like: hair products, spices from making food. Versace Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir

Would enjoy: tbh not sure? Dry fruit and spices might smell like home, but I can also see him enjoying scents that feel like an escape from his usual life.

Pommefiore

Likely has some sort of fragrance in every room. Fights have broken out because of perfume.

Vil: Blends his own, of course. Knows the industry well, has connections and access to rare ingredients.

Would wear/smell like: depends on the occasion. I feel like he would wear fragrance to get in character.

Would enjoy: scents reminiscent of his father's cologne. Vintage/classics like Guerlain Jicky.

Rook: Prefers not to wear anything himself for better camouflage. Likely has a sharp sense of smell that rivals beastmen.

Would wear/smell like: suede, leather, grass. Tom Ford Tuscan Leather.

Would enjoy: can appreciate any scent. Waxes poetic until Vil drags him away from the perfume counter.

Epel: Forced to wear Vil's recommendations to fit a cute image, rip.

Would wear/smell like: Axe/Old Spice lol, but only away from Vil. Spraying habits that disgust and horrify the entirety of Pommefiore. Casualties: 2 dead 17 injured.

Would enjoy: "manly" scents, but also apple/apple blossom remind him of home. 4160 Tuesdays Up The Apples & Pears

Ignihyde

Cares the least about fragrances overall. Dorm smells synthetic, concrete and metal.

Idia: Only interested if it's related to an idol/anime. Has the 5 in 1 shampoo/conditioner/body wash/toothpaste/machine oil

Would wear/smell like: Baja Blast and Dorito dust. Strong tea and energy drinks from pulling all nighters. Jacques Zolty Severo

Would enjoy: tbh not sure.. Plastic, metal, and cleaning spray remind him of home.

Ortho: Curious about how people are affected by fragrance. Could probably make something for you on the spot.

Would wear/smell like: something airy and light, metal and synthetics. Demeter New Car (lol)

Would enjoy: Not sure if he has a sensor for that? Whatever his brother likes I guess.

Diasomnia

Not sure if fairies have a different sense of smell? Dorm would smell like moss, stone/earthy notes

Malleus: As the centuries change so do the smells of things (I think). Rarely finds anything that smells nostalgic.

Would wear/smell like: moss, earth and petrichor from wandering around old buildings. CB I Hate Perfume M2 Black March

Would enjoy: tbh not sure.. Sorry Tsunotaro :(

Lilia: Fascinated by all the new stuff molecular chemistry is coming up with. Remembers when they were simply called scented waters.

Would wear/smell like: something that's been produced for a long time, a classic. 4711 Original Eau de Cologne/Zoologist Bat just because of the name

Would enjoy: anything new and crazy, but also nostalgic scents, if they even still exist for him...

Silver: Has tried smelling salts to wake up, they do not work.

Would wear/smell like: herbs, grass, white florals. Disney princess vibe but a little wilder. Amouage Reflection Man

Would enjoy: forest scents, fruits and florals remind him of childhood. Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Toit.

Sebek: Keeps clean but also probably not picky, might complain of smelling too human though.

Would wear/smell like: sharp, clean, hair wax and aftershave. Gotta look good for Malleus! Penhaligon's Sartorial.

Would enjoy: anything Malleus likes. Medicinal/cleaning spray scents remind him of home.

Resources:

Fragrantica perfumes by note (very fun to look through, especially the synthetics section)

Now Smell This FAQ

The Scent of Desire by Rachel Herz (all the psychology stuff)

Personal opinions and disclaimers:

I have not personally sniffed any of these perfumes so I'm going off the descriptions and reviews on Fragrantica. I have also not read all of the characters vignettes so these might not reflect canon. IMHO how you smell is a reflection of how you live day to day, and what perfume/cologne you choose is a reflection of what you like and how you want others to perceive you. So I've split this into two parts:

Would wear/smell like = what scent they think represents them/what would rub off on them based on environment/lifestyle

Would enjoy = mostly based off of what smells familiar to them + other guesses

[ribb0ngirl]

𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔𝚑𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 ʚɞ ⁺˖

my tips for healthy weightloss ♡

𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑝 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑠

♡ eat healthier instead! Meal prep for the week, it saves time and it won't be as tempting to go for something unhealthy when you planned ahead. Make sure your meals are filled with fiber (helps with gut health) and protein (boosts metabolism), they also keep you full.

𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡

♡ when I say this I mean a healthy calorie deficit (not those crazy 200cal diets), on average, cutting 500cals from your normal amount can help you get started on a good, consistent weight loss plan. But honestly just use a free app to help you track your calorie intake. Don't obsess with calorie counting though, you don't have to do strictly those cals, nothing more nothing less, like you can go a little over your limit sometimes I promise it won't be the end of the world.

𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑠

♡ drinking one glass of water 30 minutes before a meal to help digestion. but don't drink too soon before or after a meal cause the water will dilute the digestive juices. Also drink water an hour after the meal to allow the body to absorb the nutrients!!

𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘

♡ studies have shown that having a regular walking program can help you melt away some extra weight. Just 2 1/2 hours of walking a week (about 20 minutes a day) can shrink your belly by about 2.5cm in 4 weeks !! Also walking is fun, just put on your fav playlist, bring water and have a hot girl walk!! Before driving or anything think "Could I walk there?". Walking can also reduce stress, help ward off symptoms of depression and helps you be more positive! If you have strict parents that don't let you walk alone (like myself) go to the gym and get on the tredmill or walk around the house or backyard.

𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠

♡ pilates is so good and effective, a study in 2017 showed that practicing Pilates for two months not only was effective for weight loss, it also reduced BMI and toned waist, abdomen, and hip areas. If you're like me and can't afford or don't have time to go to classes literally just search "pilates workout" on youtube and you'll get a ton of them!! pair this with a daily hot girl walk and your pretty much set

𝑓𝑖𝑥 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑠𝑐𝚑𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒

♡ getting quality sleep is super important for a healthy weight loss plan and also for your mental health in general. Research has shown that losing sleep while dieting can reduce the amount of weight lost and encourage overeating. Try to get around 7–9 hours of sleep per night.

𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡𝚑𝑖𝑛𝑔!!

♡ listen, I get it, I've been there done that, you wanna see results quick and are sick of feeling bad, but babe, when you workout and diet to an extreme level, your body can go out of balance. This can literally slow down your weight loss process, so you're doing the reverse of what you wanted, also it's totally exhausting and so not worth it. Please have patience with your body.

𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎 𝚑𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑘 !! 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑘 ♡

[chromotps]

uhhh thoughts on alabasta ratman sleep-deprived and weed fueled ace vs peak chad energy fuckboy prime wano ace?? like which one do you prefer, do you have any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different? in these two periods of his life?

(also ugh I adore both and there’s something special about alabasta ace who went after luffy to drum island, made sure everyone knew he would be waiting for luffy in alabasta, then went and sat there for 10 days with no other purpose but to wait for luffy. bc he just wanted to see him so so much. brocon alabasta ace is uhhhgggghh insane vibes but. there’s also something about wano graciously giving everyone big tits and a healthy layer of fat tissue on top of all that muscle. also the fact that portgas d “i hate when little children follow me around” ace willingly befriended and took care of tama. also promised her the same thing he promised luffy. idkidkidk I just like to think luffy was on ace’s mind 90% of the time, wherever he went, and he often just thought about him bc a lot of thinks reminded him of luffy. like things luffy would like, things he’d like to eat, things he’d find funny etc)

I thought this would be easy to answer but then I had like a whole essay typed up in my head. so. thank you for this ask, I have a lot of feelings about it apparently. 😂😂

they really do feel like 2 different characters, maybe bc Oda was still firming up the details of marineford/wano when Ace first appeared in alabasta? In any case it's always fun seeing which "version" of him fans lean into in fanart/fic/headcanons hahaha. like do they make him more scrungly and sleazy (but maybe also secretly doting)? you got yourself a greasy Ace fan. do they make him all upstanding and softly affectionate and soulful? wano ace wano ace wano ace

(a lot more rambling from here)

I have to admit...... and I'm ashamed to say it............... but I was only half-aware of Ace in Alabasta—like at that point, he was just another "wacky cool shounen guy" to me. It took Marineford breaking my brain down to its component parts and rearranging them for my full Ace brainrot to set in, and at that point he was closer to Ethereal Fridged Wife wano Ace, so I'd probably go with that one? God I do need to rewatch Alabasta tho, I feel like it'd be such a trip of fawning over greasy ratman Ace this time around ahahahah

I think it took until Marineford for me to really latch onto Ace bc it was outwardly like: Alabasta Ace: I'm cool Marineford Ace: I'm cool [ironic][hiding INTENSE self-worth issues]

I agree with everything you said though... I love wrinkly, wrung-out-to-dry Alabasta Ace and his devil-may-care coolness. His vibes of being just a bit more of a rebel than any of the Strawhats even, the thing that makes people cast him as a guitarist or artist in modern AUs. that fuckin,,,,, crouch/perching thing he does,,,, The WAITING... he's so understated with his devotion, like, this panel??

he's trying to be so cool and older brother-y but really he just wants his little brother to visit him sometimes!!! he waited for luffy for 10 days when he's been prioritizing this mission over everything else, even being with his other found-family crew, and I just!!! sigh

"any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different" I so agree that Wano Ace is pre-Whitebeard Ace, meaning that even though he's presenting himself as independent and a leader/captain, there's a part of him that's still very angry and searching for acceptance. And yesss, bc of that he was probably holding his memories of Luffy so close all the time, seeing his brother who loves him in the innocent, trusting kid he helps, and unable to stop bragging about his brave little brother to the brash, impressive club-weilding guy he runs into.

meanwhile I feel like Alabasta Ace is actually more mellowed-out in his feelings toward Luffy, in a way? like idk, maybe—I might be completely off—but he's more secure in himself and his attachment to Luffy... or at least he tells himself he is. I just feel like that explains why he's shown to be so openly brag-y about Luffy in his Wano days, but seems way more laidback in Alabasta, haha (but the brocon devotion is still there, just better-hidden, lmaoooo) (and it gets ripped to the forefront during Marineford—he's forced to confront all that fear and attachment when he sees Luffy hurtling through the air toward him AH)

god tho. wano ace. wano ace and this gif

the things. the things i want to do to this man. the morals i would abandon. unspeakable.

and this???? him??????????????? sunkissed angel backlit like the once-in-a-lifetime love interest in a twee indie film???

yeah I... in summary, I feel like I have 60/40 preference for Wano Ace over Alabasta Ace, but really it's that mix of all those qualities that I like to bring in when i can.

(my secret third answer is Marineford Ace. the blorbo who started it all, lmao)

[slowips]

need a little time away

childe & reader

childe returns from liyue after 2 years with great news! he is now an expert in what liyue calls feng shui, and he says your house is full of bad luck. so... what's the solution? him, of course. he'll be staying in your house.

# childhood friends, visions do not exist, fatui is not a sus organization but a well respected company, bullet fic, hot proofread, 1.6k words.

✱ this was a draft i had on this blog since the beginning of the year. i didn't have enough energy and interest to reformat or rewrite it for my writing blog, so i'll be posting it here and calling it a day. it's also partially because i forgot the plan for this story, lol. but title was given by (@)isekyaa, which i used for another childe fic.

.　⁺ . 　 ˚　✦　.　　+ ⁺　 　 . ✦

childe was a peculiar childhood friend.

you remember him telling you that fishes would sleep upside down with their bellies peeking out of the water's surface. that's a sign that you should not touch them—no matter how hungry—because it was rude to disturb the fishes sleep.

(fish is better fresh anyways, and by fresh he meant caught alive.)

he would tell you that when your hands are so cold that you can't feel them, it's caused by invisible fire in the air. you don't feel heat from the fire because it's invisible.

(since it's still a burn, it means it must be treated asap.)

shy and sweet, even though he shared things that you've learned are not quite right, he was still a joy to be around.

then one day, he went missing.

at first it wasn't alarming. children get lost in the thick forest of snezhnaya all the time. it's part of growing up. helps builds essential skills like having a good sense of direction.

but then he didn't come back home for dinner. his parents frantically called the town for help.

"my poor child," they cried. "lost in the woods with a single coat".

everyone banned together to track the lost child. he wasn’t the type to go wandering around on his own for long.

was he playing alone? was it a kidnap? did you hear any fights among their family? what urged him to run away? do you think the search is worth?

whispers and rumours grew, which dampened efforts but you trudged on in deep snow.

crunch

crunch

crunch

the gale of an impending snowstorm warns of you danger. it pushes against you as if yelling at your bad decision to press on.

crunch

crunch

crunch

you promised to find their son. you promised to find childe.

in the center of the snowstorm stands a someone with similar stature to your missing friend.

you returned with a child with blue eyes and messy orange hair, tuffs sticking out in a recognisable fashion.

you couldn’t find childe, the peculiar childhood friend.

whoever you brought back didn’t like it when you reminded him of his misunderstandings.

(“look, childe! the fishes are asleep again!”

“they’re dead. probably because of a parasite. want to catch one and see for ourselves?”

“i think i got burned by fire in the air.”

“it’s a frostbite. it’s fun to see how deep the numbness can go. want to try it with me?”)

news of his new hobby, fighting, would become the talk of the town.

there’s always an edge to his smile, a non-shine in his eyes that make it blend with the harsh environment of winter.

his parents sent him to work for the fatui. you’ve hardly ever seen him since. it was as if they couldn’t bear looking at an imposter.

“you didn’t know i came back?” childe asks at your door.

he has frequent trips overseas, and every time he returns, he’s the talk of the town. they whisper about the months he went missing, cajole at the stories he tells from his adventures overseas, and admire the man he has become.

(good with kids too, the grandmothers coo.)

he’s not wrong to say it is strange you’re surprised he’s back when this isn’t the first he greets you shortly after he returned.

in your defence, your month has been going splendid (NOT)... you’ve been distracted by so many things.

dog died, retrenched, attended a funeral for a distant relative, bumped into a cabinet that broke your family’s heirloom. anything bad imaginable felt like it happened to you.

you would say your house is haunted if snezhnaya citizens believe in ghost.

you aren’t really in the mood to greet a puppy dog smile that never quite seem to land.

before you can explain yourself, a strong wind blows. it extinguishes your flame.

(it’s backup because your heater was sent for repair.)

“you know what? we should talk inside.”

you couldn’t agree more.

as you closed the door and proceed to reignite the fire, you notice how he’s staring at your interior.

“you don’t know how my house looks?” you quip, “never changed my layout for years.”

childe remains quiet. he looks at the ceiling, then looks at the carpet.

“liyue has this idea that the way your furniture is structured should coincide with the flow of luck.”

you don’t know what he’s talking about, but it’s rude to interrupt your guest. you hum as a prompt for him to continue.

“it’s called feng shui. i practically studied it while i was there for 2 years and i know a house ridden with bad luck when i see one.”

it sounds ridiculous.

sure, you can’t deny your luck has been all over the place the past month, but it can’t be because of a layout you have for years.

child points north.

“this is the flow of luck this season. you should rearrange your furniture.”

“how so?”

“like here,” he says as he stands across the dining table parallel to your door. “horrible decision. this is the first thing your visitors see when you enter, and it should not be the dining table.”

“o-okay…”

for some reason, even if the subject of energies and whatever bores you, there’s a rhythm to how he speaks. it’s as if he’s almost (almost almost almost) like the childe you once knew.

(carefree, laid back, and innocent.)

“why in this orientation anyway?” he asks as he looks at the door then the dining table. “you’re blocking the pathway into your house.”

“my parents only drop by for a few minutes so i wanted a table close to the door.”

“not an excuse,” he says wagging a finger. “this is blocking all the luck. i’ve heard of your misfortune. never thought someone would be so unlucky to have a hail stone puncture the roof.”

you would have groaned, but knowing childe, he wasn’t done.

“do you have the stone with you still?”

“… why would you want it?”

“oh, for fun.”

there it was. that childe that told you he liked the taste of blood in his mouth.

that childe who beat up another who apparently spoke ill of you.

childe who tells you he can teach you how to survive the cold winters with a single coat. he learned it from a kind stranger.

“okay, so what should i do?” you ask to get rid of these depressing thoughts. you slump into your couch. “where should the dinning table be. my space isn’t big enough for it to be anywhere else.”

he stays quiet to examine your living room again. he’s probably already picturing the areas behind closed doors.

you really aren’t in the mood for a whole renovation, especially when you’re broke after loosing your job. plus, the dining table is a gift from your parents, so it’s not like you can discard it. they’ll probably scold you till your ears fall off when they visit next week.

“it seems like we have to mitigate the situation with something else,” he says after his thinking. “again, not an excuse to not shift what we can, but you do need a lucky charm to help chase away the bad luck.”

and he smirks.

oh, he smirks.

“what might that be?”

“it’s not a what. you should be asking who.”

“not asking.”

“it’s me.”

“didn’t ask.”

“you sure you don’t want me to solve it for you?”

it’s not like you don’t want childe to stay in your house. he has stayed for a couple of days before.

granted they were because he was kicked out of the house for whatever reason. this? this was unreasonable. you don’t know what he’s planning. feng shui or not, he’s going to need a better reason to live under your roof.

before you can push him out of your door, you can’t turn the damn knob.

what.

“it’s a sign.”

“no it’s not,” you insist as you use two hands to twist it. the door knob rattles. any more strength and you fear you’ll break it which is worse.

“you have to accept the circumstances. and, i’m trying to help.”

you look at childe, disbelief littered all over your facial features. fate is a cruel thing.

“the coldness probably froze the mechanic,” he diagnoses. “will you let me help you warm it up? i won’t cause a fire. promise.”

fine. he is right that he’s trying to help, and when he gets that door unlocked you’re kicking him out.

as you exchange places with him, leaning against the wall to watch him start a fire and use it to warm your door handle, you guess having someone who knows how to deal with these bad situations is a boon.

you guess if you’ve accepted your childhood friend is not coming back, then you can accept this too.

(unwillingly.)

when he unlocks your door, you’ve made up your mind.

“you can stay,” you say to his surprise. his face scrunches in confusion but it bursts with happiness later.

“i knew i could count on you.”

“on me? i thought you’re staying here because i’m counting on you to be my lucky charm?”

“oh, we’ll, that too.”

“you’re not telling me something.” you press your foot on the floorboard so hard you think you hear it crack. “why do you want to stay in my house?”

“you can keep me for feng shui reasons.” he raises his hand in a surrender pose. “your floor cracked, by the way. want me to fix it for you?”

you roll your eyes, too tired to say no. it will be foolish to reject free services.

“fine. i need a break.”

“rest well…?”

that’s the last thing you hear before you crumple on your bed.

[madeofsweetness]

Book Talk Continuation @2pretty

I honestly loved reading your thoughts (the analogy to junk food was perfect!) and I agree with everything you said. The most beautiful thing you wrote was, "Our time should be spent in a way that makes us love life, not distracts from us living it." It’s the whole conclusion of the book really! I’ve noticed that many people in our generation are almost against the idea of this. They call everything cringe, make fun of people who are happy, disrespect anyone who doesn’t believe their nonsense, and try to drag others down. This is the problem of social media I guess and I’m sure you’ve talked about it before.

Also let me point out, the quote at page 202 is spot on! When I began to limit my sm usage and do No Social Media Sundays (thanks to you girl!), I felt anew. I now do not wanna spend no more than like 20 minutes on apps like twitter and tumblr cause it feels weird😭 Cultivating a life worth living is the ultimate freeing state to be in and a lot of these apps become extremely wasteful, once you start filling your schedule with higher quality activities. It’s just like Outkast said, you need to get up, get out and get something. Don’t let the days of your life pass by! 

I would love to hear about any habits you have or will do as well! But here are my habits I would like to implement after reading this book: 

Calling people instead of texting. Honestly, the only people I call are my family but when I make more friends, I want them to know, calling is my preferred method of communication. I want to be even more human again and only texting doesn’t allow for that. (Reference to page 145 about irl communication vs digital)

Printing or writing out directions instead of using google maps. I love google maps but I want to be able to have an internal compass, know which street will come after the other and be able to ask people around me for help like my parents do, without feeling so sure that “oh my phone will tell me”.

Only accessing social media on my laptop instead of through the apps. The apps are there to make the process convenient and addicting but I’m planning on using these apps for a sole purpose which means, I can’t keep caring about conveniency!

Only looking up words in my physical dictionary. As a kid, I loved reading my dictionary and encyclopedia but as technology progressed, it became easier to quickly open the next tab and search "what does [blank] mean?" without thinking. I honestly miss the feeling of cracking open a hardcover book and scanning through the words until I finally landed on what I was searching for. Plus I think dictionaries are good for truth/historical purpose, it’s not based in emotion ;) hehe

Buy photo albums again!! I still use disposable cameras so that’s not a problem, but instead of keeping my pics digital, I want to print them out from my phone and keep them safe in a beautiful family album like how my other memories are. I also was totally inspired by my mom bcs I seen her photo book from her teen years and it warmed my heart completely. Memories will always be cherished, even the silly ones. 

Praying 24/7. To talk, to reflect, to ask for guidance, etc. I’m realizing that praying isn’t to be done only when in a [blank] state of mind nor is it to be "perfect". (Direct reference to page 95)

Learning to not just whip out my headphones when I feel awkward. On page 100, I felt sooo called out when he said iPods created this way of living that now enables you to have a musical backdrop for your entire day lol. I love music too much to give it up whenever I’m outside especially since it helps with my emotions, but I do recognize that being plugged in constantly will not want to make people talk to me, and I want to look approachable and friendly!!

I eventually want to start taking 2 hour walks. That’s it.

Months ago, I wished badly to have love letters written about me from my future man haha, but I realized I could write myself love letters! I decided that every year I could write about what this year was about for me. I don’t know if I will still do that or if I’ll just write everything down in my journal and label that as my "love letter" but either way, I’m documenting off of my phone.

Just like when I was a kid, I now always carry a current book im reading, my word finder book and a notebook whenever I leave the house. Only problem is I need a bigger bag haha.

As a (Black) American, I think it’s crucial for me to learn the skills that my grandmother and great grandmother knew, things like sewing, quilting, and cooking without recipes lol, are what I want to know how to do as well. I think it’s a wonderful way to honor them and when I have my own family, I would love to teach my children too. These crafts should not be forgotten, it’s culture.

[loycspotting]

2. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Shallow Grave (1994)

To celebrate Ewan McGregor's 53rd birthday I think it's only fitting to review his movie debut!

First, a couple fun facts about this movie. Shallow Grave will turn 30 years old on May 16th this year! 😱Also, this movie was released 10 days after Being Human which was our first review and had Ewan's first big screen role.

Alright, let's dive in!

Movie Review: Shallow Grave is a Drama/Thriller directed by Danny Boyle and also written by him and John Hodge. This was a movie of firsts. It marked Danny Boyle's debut as a feature film director, John Hodge's first screenplay, Ewan's big screen debut, and the beginning of a close working relationship between the three men. The reason I'm calling this movie Ewan's debut even though he was in a movie before this is because he was just an extra in that movie. In this one, he plays a leading role. The movie also stars Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston. Shallow Grave is about three friends living together who come across a large sum of money when their new housemate mysteriously dies. In deciding to keep the money, they have to outwit the police investigating the death, protect the money from others looking for it, and eventually, protect themselves from each other. The protagonists are all assholes which makes for a unique viewing experience because you're not necessarily rooting for them to win. This movie is vulgar, violent, and has lots of blood. There's a couple frontal nude shots and for those that like Christopher Eccleston, an ass shot. You also get to see Ewan in drag which is a plus in my book. Unfortunately, I think there's a brief depiction of blackface (not by Ewan) which shocked and greatly disappointed me. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment but let me know if you see it or if my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Ewan Review: Ewan plays the character Alex Law. Like the other characters he is a grade A asshole and majored in sarcasm. Damn if he's not pretty though. His character is integral to the plot this time. Ewan does a phenomenal job playing Alex and I think the casting directors knew what they were doing because his good looks definitely help you forgive his more rough personality.

Screentime Percentage (All numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number): Ewan has a grand total of 41/93 minutes making his SP 44%. If that still sounds low to you, keep in mind that his previous role was an abysmal 2%. Trust me when I say that when you watch the movie for yourself it will feel like he's in every scene because he's so connected to the plot.

To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is Shallow Grave worth watching for Ewan content alone? Yes yes yes! From the fantastic haircut, the super 90s outfits, the underwear shots, the drag, the post fight scene, and more! There is enough Ewan content to satisfy your soul. Is the movie worth watching in general? Another resounding YES! You can easily classify this movie as a Psychological/Thriller. I've watched it several times and find something new while also being left with more questions.

Where to Watch: Shallow Grave is currently uploaded for free on YouTube through the account "deejay bains". Just search "Shallow Grave 1994".

Conclusion: Shallow Grave is a passion project made by some plucky nobodies without a clue that it would start their careers down the path of success. It's charming, gripping, and has some good comedic moments. I would encourage you to watch this movie with friends. It's a fun time and will have you on the edge of your seat.

TL;DR: Ewan plays a leading role alongside Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston. The movie has nude shots and bloody scenes. Definitely worth watching. You can view Shallow Grave for free on YouTube.

[marimayscarlett]

Did I understand this correctly, you really collect all the interviews Richard has ever done? I mean props to you and it's cool that you put so much energy in it, but isn't that pretty... time-consuming and laborious, searching for everything? Do you do this for fun? Just asking out of curiosity, no judgment here ✌🏼

Hello 👋🏼

I see you found my post (which actually was just rambling again) from last week 😊 You're right, it can be time-consuming to collect all the interviews (I search for articles as well as video and audio interviews and boy, this man has a lot to say) but I do have several reasons why I do it. You asked, so I might as well explain it:

1. I think it's quite evident that I am rather enthusiastic about Richard, his music and him as a person. For over 8 years, to be exact. So learning about his views on things, his work process and everything in between brings me immense joy (since I love researching in general). And when I'm already listening to an interview or reading one, I might as well save it if I'd like to come back to it later.

Posting/reblogging superficial things about him (his looks etc) is fun and all, but at the end of the day, he as an individual being is so so interesting and listening to him talking etc. makes me the most happy regarding him.

2. I like collecting in general, especially books (mostly historical) and records, and it's kind of a "soothing" feeling for me to know exactly where I can find something when I'm looking for specific information.

3. When I get asks on here or writing posts with information about Richard, I'd like to support my statements and writings about him with sources, preferably from himself. I don't approve of spreading rumors, personal stuff Richard himself hasn't confirmed or half-truths where nobody knows where they came from in the first place.

I think this is a relic from my studies at university when I wrote a bunch of papers and essays. One thing my professors drilled into my head was the fact that no matter how good something is written, if the statements and information in it aren't backed up with sources, it's worth nothing and could also just have been made up.

So that's it. If you made it up to here and read all of my unnecessary long-winded answer, cute skort-Richard is sending you a thank you:

[jariktig]

What happens on AO3 (stays on AO3)...

So, I have finally hit the end condition for my TF pairings sample - I’d estimated I’d have to go through about 100 pages of AO3 search (or around 4% of the total) to get to the point of finding 10 pages with no new pairings.  It actually took 357, or around 15% of the total, or around a year’s worth of fics to search and some days of my free time, so I am going to get some use out of it if it kills me!  Accordingly, while I’m waiting for Tumblr to give me polls so that I can run the Rare Pairs Battle Royale that was the original intent of the thing, I present  some silly analysis, below the cut because it’s a bit long.

First, some caveats:

1.  This is based entirely on fanfics as presented on AO3; no FFN, no Wattpad, no LJ etc and no canonicity except insofar as the patterns on AO3 match those in canon (which is very firmly left as an exercise for the reader);

2.  It’s a sample survey, taken at a single point in time (around early Feb 2023; could look more exactly if anyone’s desperate to know).  That means there will be some pairings that have appeared since (@quetzapapalotl’s Optimus Prime/Primus frex) and some that I’ve not yet picked up (a couple that I remember because I liked the relevant fics are Megatron/The Nemesis and Laserbeak/Swoop).  That said, the big conclusions should be pretty robust at this stage and the list of rare pairs also won’t be greatly off.  As an extra check I can put up a link to the latter and ask people to suggest additions;

3.  I’ve excluded relationships including OCs (because I’d included foreign language fics and so reading through all the individual ones to try to disambiguate OCs was beyond me; also I didn’t want to read through a large number of Prowl/OC fics and the like), and relationships including generic types of TFs such as Vehicon or Seeker (on the premise that those are effectively OCs with backstory).  I’ve also excluded TF/human relationships including reader self-insert for similar reasons.  Non-OC TFs are defined as those findable on TFWiki.

Right, on with the actual findings:

1.  There are at least 639 individual pairings in TF fandom as represented on AO3; of those, around 12% (at least 146) are one-fic wonders whose supporters I can only salute.  The median number of fics per pairing is 7, which is surprisingly low.  (I’d been thinking of my favourite Megatron/Jazz as “rare”, but it’s only just outside the top quartile in reality).   At the other end of the scale, there are 55 pairings with over 100 fics and 4 with over 1000.  All of this is not nearly so impressive as the combinatorics someone did in the great TF/Homestuck discussion, but I expect that is my own fault for excluding OCs, vehicons and the like.  Also, if someone wants to repeat this trick for Homestuck I’ll gladly compare results, but I know my limits.

2.  The most popular pairing (somewhat to my surprise) is Jazz/Prowl, with 2632 fics.  Megatron/Optimus Prime (including Megatron/Orion Pax etc and correcting for overlaps) comes to 2407, Megatron/Starscream 1783, and Drift (Deadlock)/Ratchet 1386.

3.  At a faction level, Autobots have more fun, even if corrected for the fact that the population of named Autobots is higher than the same for Decepticons: using lists of named G1 characters as a rough proxy for population likely to appear on AO3, Autobots get 2.4 relationships per capita and Decepticons 2.3.  Which is not that different, but Autobots also get 126 fics per capita, as opposed to the Decepticons’ 104.  Decepticon advocates (including me) point out here that how much sex you have is not necessarily related to how much fun you have in the process, but still.  Neutrals are harder to do pop stats for, but on the face of it underrepresented, and the Variable category for people who canonically shift factions during the war or whose name is shared with other TFs from the opposite faction is definitely overrepresented.  That last one is entirely a function of Drift (Deadlock).

4.  Still at a faction level (and again correcting for population), inter-faction relationships are definitely more popular than intra-faction ones, with 0.35% of the theoretically possible inter-faction pairings actually appearing on AO3 and only 0.26% of the intra-faction ones.  Must be the lure of the forbidden, or something.  Also clearly a lot of untapped potential out there.

5.  More on this to come when I’ve done the arithmetic properly, but at a glance the most obviously underrepresented group is beastformers.

6.  At an individual level, I have a few awards to give out:

The Little Black Dress Award for the TF who goes with absolutely anything (credit to @cleverthylacine for the name) goes to Megatron, by some distance and on either of the obvious metrics; he has 53 pairings and 6484 fics (correcting for overlaps again).  He can presumably store the trophy with the Best Wife one...  Vying for second place, Optimus Prime and Starscream with 35 pairings each; Starscream has 4843 fics and Optimus 4736 so it’s Starscream by an Insecticon’s whisker.  And also close for fourth and fifth, Prowl (29 pairings, 3583 fics) and Ratchet (25 pairings, 3439 fics).  Slightly stunned that Rodimus isn’t in the top 5, but there it is.

The Serial Monogamy Award for the TF with the highest ratio of fics to pairings goes to Chromedome (676 fics across 2 pairings, with Rewind and Prowl).  I’m pretty sure this surprises exactly nobody.  Second is Breakdown, with 969 fics across 4 pairings - Knockout and Starscream are the big ones, but Motormaster and Drag Strip also feature.  And third is Tailgate, with 735 fics across 4 pairings (Cyclonus, Whirl, Arcee, Glyph).  Nobody else anywhere near, once you correct for the fact that Orion Pax is also Optimus Prime.  Soundwave: a sufficiently superior husband to be paired up with 23 other TFs, which reduces the ratio somewhat.

The Lifetime Monogamy Award for the TF with the most fics given that they have only a single pairing goes jointly to Anode and Lug, who have 76 fics together and no pairings with anyone else on either side. Second is Chase, with 56 fics in Chase/Heatwave (not shared with Heatwave, who has quite a few other pairings; I hope that’s a properly negotiated deal).  Third a three-way tie between Airazor/Tigatron (28 fics, no other pairings for either) and Devcon (28 fics with Smokescreen, who has quite a few other pairings).

The Jack Harkness Fragging with Added Space-Time Award goes to Megatron, Optimus Prime, Brainstorm and Tarn, all of whom feature as their own partners in more than one fic.

And that’s all I’ve got for the moment.  Next steps: do ntuples for N>2, add mech/femme and frametype/group/combiner to the set so that I can cut by those, try to work out a quicker way of repeating the exercise for pairs including humans, and wait for tumblr to give me polls.  Drop me a line if you’ve questions or suggestions for future analysis.

[renyen808]

A Date with Death: How is this Game FREE?!

Lately, the video game industry has taken a turn. When it comes to purchasing high-end games, instead of the $50 amount that I used to pay, I find that now games can cost upwards of $80, which to me is ridiculous. I mean, clearly with the success of Baulder’s Gate 3, they show that they can make an amazing, complex, and fun-filled game for $60. I can already hear people saying, ‘Well, if you want the Deluxe version, that is $80.’ Yes, it is, but it is worth it when you can play the game over and over again and have a different adventure each time. I will write a blog post later about Baulder’s Gate 3, but let’s just say I am a huge fan. Unlike games that require you to not only buy the equipment, but the game itself cough Spider-Man 2 cough. I personally never played Spider-Man 2 and I heard it is great, but it is absurd to me that I have to have a PS5 in order to play one game. Anyway, I am getting off topic a little, the point is, games are getting expensive in the mainstream and I just want something fun to play with me having to pay little to no money. I was searching through Steam when I found it, the game I am about to talk about: A Date With Death.

(Credit: Steam)

A Date with Death, which was released on December 7th of last year, is a texting and chatting based game where you are talking to a Grim Reaper created by Two and a Half Studios. You are able to communicate through text messaging and video calls for the majority of the game, with at least one chat and video call per in-game day. You can customize your own character, choosing from an array of different outfits, skin tones, hairstyles and colors, facial attributes and accessories. You can also choose your pronouns, your first and last name, and pet. You can also customize your in-game apartment with all sorts of things, such as polaroids or plants. 

(Credit: Two and a Half Studios)

At the point I am writing this, I have completed the game, obtained every ending, and got every Steam achievement available. I played the game a total of four times and received a different ending each time. There are many different requirements that you have to do to complete each ending, and while, during the game, it could seem confusing, once you figure out how Grim, that’s what I will call the Grim Reaper, reacts to your words, then you’ll be able to change the course of the story. Although this game only goes for seven in-game days, they find many ways to pack it with content. I have a total of 26.6 hours on the game (honestly, some of it is from it being idle), but that shows you just how much I played it. Before we continue, I also want to add that this game does have swearing and some suggestive content, but I think that can be assumed because this is a romance visual novel. Nothing NSFW shows up in the game. 

Also, before we continue, I have to admit that I got the DLC for this game, which was $7. It adds more dialogue and different choices you can make in your character’s appearance, so there is that. However, I can tell what was a part of the base game, thanks to a little star next to the new dialogue (I honestly thought it was saying he likes those the most, that is not the case for some of the choices). What I am saying by bringing up that I purchased the DLC is that you do not need it in order to enjoy the game. It really is great without it at its core. 

It helps that Grim himself, to me, is pretty cute. I love his snark and charm and instantly understood that that is what the developers were going for. His outfit is also unique. He is wearing a jacket, but it’s around his shoulders. He also has white hair (LOVE) and red eyes, because of course. He is video calling from his bedroom, and he is usually slouching like he is in the image on Steam. Sometimes he will perk up and blush and stuff, but he is normally guarded when he is on call with you. He will also message you in different styles since he is learning to talk with a mortal, so there is that little bit of information. Oh, I forgot, you can also completely customize your in-chat profile, changing the image and name, but only after an in-game event. 

(Credit: Steam)

The artwork in this game is absolutely stunning for a free game as well. I cannot believe how gorgeous it is. They give you a gallery, which shows all the different images of Grim and what the previsuals looked like before the in-game counterparts. They give a lot of artwork and put a lot of love into the game and I appreciate it so much. I really enjoy when I see people put their heart and soul into games they create because it shows that they love what they do. It doesn’t feel like a cash grab, but rather a passion project that they can build more off of.

(Credit: Two and a Half Studios)

Speaking of that, currently, there is a DLC expansion planned for the game. There is currently no release date at the time of this post, but I can assure you, once it comes out, I will be one of the first ones to purchase and review it! 

A Date with Death, a free game where you chat and romance the Grim Reaper was a lot more fun than I anticipated it to be. I found myself going back and wanting to complete everything instead of it feeling like a chore to achieve all the endings and achievements. While I don’t think I’ll play it again right away, once the new content comes out, you best believe I will return to Grim and our adventures. In the end, play this game. I honestly think this is a well made game for FREE, and I believe anybody will have a fun time with it. 

Also, sorry for the lack of images this time around! I don't wanna spoil anything for you all ;)

[team-heavenly]

Chapter 22 - Part 2

Lest you've lost your way, click here to progress (regress?) back to Part 1.

...Okay, now I'm officially worried.

Meanwhile, back in the Real World™️ (shout-out to my buddy @kantochampred!):

Alright, I'm about to go off on a small side tangent here but I promise it's worth it-

(Sorry to post your sins on main, Red 😔)

(Why Do I Climb the Mountain? is a reference btw)

LMAO OKAY thank you for bearing with me, now back to the main show:

Good job, neither of those two things is correct!

...Okay, Cherrim has replaced Drifblim, yes, but. Imagine this tiny seed holding Teresa and Andrea by their little stubby hands while riding the wind down the mountain.

I had to look up a walkthrough to identify that little Riolu to the right. Normally, that's an Exeggcute! (And the backup for Team Frontier, apparently).

The Third Station Pass was dubbed Great Turn, while the clearing was called:

Admittedly, I had no idea what an "oubliette" was, so I did a quick search and...

Wait a minute, are you freaking kidding me-

WE ARE STARRING IN A WAR DRAMA AAAAAAAAAAAA-

(Apologies for the small text at the start, let me know if I need to add an image description!)

...No >:l

The only reason I left this in is because this happened:

Oh my God yes PLEASE-

So fun fact, I actually did a dry run of the first few dungeons before doing it for real and taking photos. And the first time around, this gift was an Escape Orb? Which isn't bad, but I would 100% take the Reviver Seed over that any day.

The 4th Station Pass was named Sad Peninsula. (Florida? Dat you?) And the 4th Station Clearing? See below.

But then!

(Handsome Desolation? Is this where the handsome men in uniform... perish?! 😓)

I feel like a large, prehistoric rock dino should be enough to scare most things, but I guess taking the even larger rock snake as backup can't hurt.

So we go through the 5th Station Pass, Sandy Way... (Only one letter different from Sandy Bay.)

I. Don't remember why I took a picture of this. The downfalls of not immediately composing posts after the playthrough...

But yeah, those giant two-room dungeons with guaranteed MH's and a huge mass of enemies in the other room aside is definitely a theme and I hate it.

Andrea consumed enough Gummis to obtain this IQ skill, which is awesome since Max Elixirs are so hard to come by.

Look at this!! I'm pretty sure Blizzard only had 7 PP before! Yee haw!

I wonder which Pokémon are the ones bothering Sneasel Pichu?

OH NOOO!! I'm imagining this grisly scene where all these Combusken are just pecking Pichu to death.

Team Frontier happens to beat us to the punch:

I love that Onix is so big that she blocks Nidoran F.

Like all territorial encroachments in Mystery Dungeon, everyone just jumps right into the fray without listening to anyone 🙄

Honestly, all of Team Frontier was pretty based. Jolteon had an ability that allowed him to attack twice in a row (I think because the weather was different?) and he consistently used X-Scissor. Nidoran F had Sesimic Toss (55 damage) and Ice Beam. Deoxys had Attack Order, Seed Flare, Rock Wrecker(!), and Swift, the last hitting for 120 damage on a critical. Combined with Teresa's Chatter (when we finally got there, because you start off a ways from everyone), they didn't stay up for much longer.

Also Jolteon shielded me when Teresa got low on HP 🥺️

"SIT DOWN FOR TWO SECONDS AND LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, I SWEAR TO ARCEUS!"

"We owe you..." -> Yet another line from this game that never made any sense to me. (Unless it was sarcasm ig?)

💀You what

Hey, speaking of... I know Onix is huge and all, but have y'all seen Pichu since the fight started...?

(Beep boop, click here to advance to Part 3)

[unwilling-souls-if]

i've been having an itch to write an if game, do you have any tips? i feel like its a very bad idea to jump straight in head first yk?

Ooh 👀 Well, I don't think I'm the most qualified but I can share my experience! I discovered choicescript a few years ago and that's the only coding format I know (Twine makes me cry), but I've only started writing with it like ~2 years ago, and I did jump straight in.

It was, in fact, a bad idea lol 😭 This will be quite rambly so I'll put in under a cut!

I'd say first thing to do is not start out with the project you have in mind if you're not familiar with the format, because it might burn you out or you won't necessarilly find it easy to put it together. Play around with things, write even only a few random scenes, just to taste the waters. I lost interest in my first WIP because i sucked at writing and coding it and it made me lose motivation!

Also, if you're using choicescript, there's the COG forum to help with some specifics code lines! I personnally don't like the forum but you don't need an account to read it and there's a search option. That's a nice resort if you struggle. Reading the wiki and their introduction first is what I did so I had a (very fragile and wonky) base, and then I added to it depending on what I needed.

Also I started writing by following the kinda old instructions of choicescript, aka in a note logiciel on my computer, where lines went on forever 😭It was a pain, so I use CS-IDE now, it makes coding and testing much easier. Basically play around and find what works the best for you. If something doesn't work even after you use it for a bit, it may be worth to find another app/editor/organisation. Personally I write scenes in another app, when's there's a choice to make I outline the possible options and then I copy and paste it in CS-IDE to code.

If you want to use Twine, there are a lot of very talented authors that put up lists of ressources and help! I think you can find them easily on Tumblr. And the IF community is pretty nice, and most people are okay to give out help if you ask for it. Lots of supports around here.

And also, there's the basic advice for all kind of writers. Don't give into pressure, it's okay if things aren't perfect. If a choice branching gives you trouble, you can always leave a placeholder and come back after. Bugs are really common, and most readers understand it.

Honestly it's easier when you have fun with it. I like putting choices that don't do much but give a little insight about characters. I like writing prompts on Tumblr because I can write characters that don't appear for a while. When I get unmotivated I go on Pinterest or Spotify to make boards or playlists. I have lists of fun facts. I think that's why it's best to have a sort of "test" project, so that the struggle can be contained at least a bit and then you can have fun with the story you like most and whose characters you know best.

It'll flow easier. And if doesn't work out, you can give it a rest, revive it later or start anew with another story.

Well, that was a lot of words for not much! i'm half-dead right now, but maybe I'll reblog it later with some links if someone wants to?

In any case, have a lovely day 🌼

[dairy-farmer]

Okay but do you have any fic recs because I am sadly feeling very deprived of good fics

i've put together a quick list of some of my recommendations!!

Things in bold are incomplete fics but I think they’re incredible and definitely worth the read even if they’re incomplete.

Blanket warning that there may be some noncon, underage, and otherwise dark content present, read tags of the fics that may interest you I find that all of them are very well tagged for content within.

These are all Explicit recs:

BruTim:

-I lost sight in you arms tonight, it was nice by April_Ace

Robin has a self-soothing behavior of sucking on things, bruce believes he will one day grow out of it. Tim does not grow out of it.

-Slow Come On by Anonymous

Cat tim gives birth to his kittens sired by his new master, and he gets to keep this litter!

-Captive by maeuve

Fuck or die. Bruce drugged by roman sionis and trapped with tim in a cage. Tim gets fucked as a result when he can’t fight him off.

-Prolactin and Oxytocin by midnighter69

Absolutely delicious lactation kink fic where tim had a baby with kon but it’s after he died and he’s struggling with postpartum depression and issues with clogged milk ducts

-I’d Scrub You Off of Me, but then I’d Scrubbed Me Off Too (Intertwined) by Blossondail

Amazing dark fic about a noncon relationship between bruce and tim and how it progresses over the years. It’s not so much romantic but it is an amazing dive into them I’d also recommend the other 2 parts of their Before I go series which this fic is part of

-Glint of Gold by JumpTheHoop

Bruce and tim brainwashed to fuck as often as possible, but there’s another layer to the curse, everyone around them acts as if its all completely normal.

-The Perfect Robin by WeirdAlterEgo

Bruce fucking trans tim and telling him he’s perfect for him and perfect to fuck

DamiTim:

-The altar is my hips by snowinthestars

Tim wants pups but doesn’t have a partner, so he asks damian to father them for him since he’s not getting any younger.

-please mama by dexdefyingstunts

mommy kink with tim riding damian

-against the wall by Buna

Sex pollened damian is impatient and fucks omega tim against the wall

JayTim:

-Islands in the Stream by youjezebel

Tim is finishing up his transition but wants a baby before his hysterectomy, he decides that Jason is the best option to be the donor and daddy.

-You’re So Pretty When I Gaslight You by Peldethrin

Features so damitim as well, Jason beats up tim pretty severely but then pulls a 180 and starts treating tim softly and nicely. Keeps him captive for a while and none of the bats notice because tim got into a fight with dick just before it all went down. Great scene where Jason video chats with them while fucking tim, they believe it’s noncon. Damian develops an interest and desire to know what happened and forms a maternal connection to tim.

-Summer Lovin’ (Happened So Fast) by DragonofGotham

No capes, slutty omega tim locks onto someone he wishes to seduce and is very interested in being taken up on the offer.

DickTim:

-Extraction mission by clarakent (mintaejin)

Tim needs to smuggle something out of Lexcorp and the only way to do that is to shove it up his ass, only for it to go too far up later, leading to him requiring assistance from Dick.

-sleep darling, for the world is wicked by the_catastrophes

Talon dick is caring for his sleeping beauty mate Robin after he’s been hit by magic. His family has been desperately searching but Talon has to keep him safe and hidden since their pup will be due soon.

-Colliding Universes by juggling_hearts

Evil talon from another universe comes to do some recon by taking his double’s place, he decides to have some fun while he’s there. But is this tim all he seems?

-Paint Me Like a Quentin Tarantino Film by cadkitten

Dick giving a sleeping tim oral while he’s on his period because he is apparently very into bloodplay

-Princes of the Universe by robinfan2

Tim was going to lose his virginity and dick had been all too happy to have been chosen for it. But an encounter with some sex pollen and rampaging superman and…the robins leans that when one among them gets hurt, they close ranks

-I See Myself in You by Fudgyokra

A new brand of sex pollen not only makes dick and tim horny, it switches their bodies.

Multi:

-Bruce/Jason/Dick/Damian x Tim: Tim Drake and the No Good, Very Bad, Sex Pollen by mediocre_minnow

Everyone but tim is affected by sex pollen

-Bruce/Jason x Tim: Blood Sugar Sex Magik by micdropbam

Tim’s pussy and Jason’s newly acquired sex toy for his rut are magically linked together by accident. Jason starts fucking it when tim is in the batmobile with bruce

-Bruce/Dick x Tim: Hospitality by Anonymous

Tim is a newly presented omega staying with the waynes and he knows there’s a ‘price’ to pay for their hospitality

-Jason/Dami x Tim: Keeping Baby Warm by kittcait

Damian wakes up all by himself and decides to seek out his mommy tim and daddy jason, maybe nurse a little for comfort

-Tim/Unkown: we’re just bricks in the wall by WeirdAlterEgo

Tim investigates with damian and gets stuck in a wall, while damian tries to get him out, he feels someone touch his backside.

-Cassandra Cain/Tim: Taken, Owned and Loved by miss_faun

Alpha cass fucks her pregnant omega tim

-Damian/Dick x Tim: 212 by TimmyJaybird

Tim gives damian a blow job in the backseat while dick drives.

-Dick/Jason/Damian/Bruce x Tim: to lay down in green pastures by dexdefyingstunts

Tim misses having a puppy after damian presents and sets about having one with his entire pack

-Jason/Damian x Tim: to a land of milk and honey by dexdefyingstunts

Tim is milking for his puppy damian during his heat and it seems that alpha Jason has decided to join in to stave off his rut.

-Kon/Damian x Tim: Birds Eye View by orphan_account

Damian finds a camera that connects to tim’s room in the tower and watches a heavily pregnant tim get fucked by kon el

-Kon/Damian x Tim: Shameful Company by 1989Red

Damian is snooping in tim’s apartment when he hears him come back, he hides in his closet and is “forced” to listen and watch as he and conner have sex. Only with superboy’s hearing two of the three people know he’s there.

[ne-spivay-ranenko]

Jukebox January: Day 2

the original post tag of all my posts

Today is songs starting with B, and this happens to include a few of my all time favorites! It's always hard to say if any one song is my favorite, because many songs mean a lot to me for many reasons, but some of them stick with me forever.

Bliss - Muse

This song is the musical manifestation of the aching feeling of seeing someone else being happy and wishing and wanting so, so much to have a little bit of the peace and joy in their mind. This is why it's one of my favorites. I always think it's so powerful because it's not wishing ill on whoever is so happy--he's singing "everything about you is so easy to love", it's just that wish to understand it, to search for that light and warmth. This song has such lovely contrasts music-wise too, the synth arpeggios with the scratches in the guitar riff, the minor key verses to major key chorus, it all adds to this feeling of both joy and painful longing at the same time.

Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

Yeah, today you get 2 Muse songs for the price of one. I can't help it! This one's also important because it's the inspiration for the first tattoo I ever got. The song's title is a reference to the butterfly effect ("the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado") and for me, it reminds me that small things can mean a lot. The tattoo itself is just a butterfly with some cool geometric patterns, but the meaning is for me!

Blinding - Florence + the Machine

I adore the whole vibe of this song, it reflects perfectly the feeling of "waking up" to the truth of something, of having your illusions about someone shattered, and the mix of both grief and freedom that comes with that. Makes me feel a lot at once in a beautiful way.

Barve oceana - Joker Out

Of all Joker Out songs, this is the one most meaningful to me personally. (To nobody's surprise, if they've ever clicked on my blog and seen the title!) When I say it's changed my life, I mean it. The line "Kdo zdej poje tiste pesmi ki je včasih pela jih?" feels like it was written specifically to remind me that I need to make music again. The whole song about someone finding herself in a faraway place, it's everything to me, it's me and my dreams and it tells me that I have to find that place for myself. Also, the bassline is so damn good...

Buen día Benito - El Cuarteto de Nos

El Cuarteto de Nos is a Uruguayan rock band which I discovered when participating in a Eurovision fan contest, actually, and I'm so glad I did because they're amazing. (Oh, and they've been around since 1984, so they have a huge back catalog!) This particular song is a favorite of mine because of the intensity of it: it's about a guy confronting his childhood bully in search of justice, and reveals more and more painful history as it goes on. It's worth looking up the lyrics to understand it if you don't speak Spanish (or if you're like me and only speak Spanish badly).

Four more below the cut so this doesn't get too long on people's dashes:

Boum Boum Boum - MIKA

Sometimes you just need a fun French song about banging your lover everywhere and shocking the bourgeoisie. That's all. The line, "s'aimer comme ça, c'est pas vulgaire" is always a good reminder, too.

Blood // Water - grandson

I love the genre mixing that grandson has in his music, plus the lyrics about corruption and greed are, unfortunately, always relevant. This one also was a big inspiration for an OC of mine, whose family's greed was the source of him being cursed, so I listened to it a lot when coming up with him.

Black Leather - KEiiNO and Charlotte Qamaniq

I love KEiiNO. I don't think I mention it enough on this blog because they don't really pop up in posts to reblog, so let me mention it now: I love KEiiNO. This song never fails to make me feel better about myself with the line "fashion your shame into a sight".

Bet Maijpuķītēm Jāpaliek - Tumsa

Every note of this song seems to be infused with beautiful melancholy. When I listen all I can feel is like I'm looking into memories through a haze, a pretty haze, but it's still memories, and I'm wishing to touch them again. Opens with the lines "Viņas sapņi ir par to/Tālu zemi, mīļoto", and considering what I said about Barve oceana above, there's definitely a pattern here...

[decepti-thots]

Excuse me archivist, I haven't read the entirety of the idw cause time and energy, and while i have already started on mtmte, is there another section of idw 1 i can read by itself without having to go back to search for context clues? Thank you and have a lovely day/night~ 💕

Oooh, this is a good question anon! (Also, I see that flattery there calling me that. It works ;) Thanks.)

I can't tell from this ask if MTMTE is the only IDW you have read to date, so I'm going to assume that's the case, and hope none of the below recommendations are too redundant. Apologies if you have in fact already read any of these! I'm also going to assume that you are enjoying MTMTE and try to recommend stuff that I think is both good and at least somewhat likely to appeal to you given that. (Though I will say up front that MTMTE is in a completely different genre to basically every other IDW comic.)

Anyway. With that in mind, let's get into it below the cut.

Not to reiterate myself ad nauseum, but- The Wreckers Saga. In particular though, Last Stand of the Wreckers, the first part of it. Sins and Wrequiem are less standalone, due to being sequels, and also because they simply invoke more goings-on from the wider non-Wreckers IDW stuff for plot reasons, though they're perfectly readable if you're willing to just go along for the ride. But Last Stand of the Wreckers especially is: 1) a five issue self contained miniseries, 2) about almost exclusively characters who have rarely or never shown up elsewhere in IDW continuity beforehand, and 3) a story that does not connect to any of the ongoings at the time. I honestly think it's one of the easiest IDW series to read if you aren't deep in the IDW Lore TM!

The Wreckers saga is three distinct things: Last Stand of the Wreckers (5 issue miniseries), Sins of the Wreckers (5 issue miniseries), Requiem of the Wreckers (one off annual-sized epilogue). If you get it digitally, get the omnibus edition with the red and green cover called 'The Wreckers Saga', not the individual collections. That's the version with ALL the Last Stand extras, which include two prose stories written by James Roberts, some mini comics, profiles, etc.

The one thing to note here is that Last Stand is also a comic that comes with content warnings. Usually when we talk content warnings in TF stuff, we're remarking on the fact that the content isn't typical for Transformers, a kids' franchise, even in other IDW stuff. Wreckers, though, is very violent by basically… any standards, haha. Wreckers is described as a horror crossover series for a reason. Last Stand draws a lot from hyper-violent slasher or grindhouse horror, and while it's all robots experiencing it, and drawn in a very stylized way, it can be a lot for some people! Last Stand details what exactly Fortress Maximus is having nightmares about in early MTMTE. So do be aware ahead of time that Last Stand especially (but Sins and Wrequiem too!) are not just violent 'for Transformers' but pretty hardcore full stop.

Moving over to the 'other side' of phase two IDW comics (so: the stuff happening on Cybertron, rather than on the Lost Light), it's absolutely worth checking out the first two Windblade miniseries to see if you enjoy them IMO. Of all the 'main' writers for IDW phase two and three, I think Scott's writing tends to be the most contentious (personally, I'm not a fan of her later ongoing, Til All Are One), but the first two Windblade miniseries are solid and fun and importantly, standalone. Also, the first miniseries has Saren Stone on interiors, whose work is infamously gorgeous.

The first miniseries is just called 'Windblade' and collects a four issue miniseries. The second is Windblade: Distant Stars and collects a second four issue miniseries plus the Combiner Hunters one shot (which is very fun, with Chromia, Arcee and Windblade interacting). The advantage to these is that Windblade in the exRiD/Cybertron side of things is explicitly presented to us as a visitor from elsewhere, who did not exprience the war and doesn't fully understand all of what's been going on during the events of preceding comics, making these series a very good jumping on point for people not necessarily looking to read the past decade or so of ongoings to catch up.

When you get to the correct part of MTMTE, Drift: Empire of Stone deserves your time! I have no idea where you are up to in your MTMTE read so I will try to avoid spoilers JUST in case, but when someone goes to look for Drift, pick it up and read it. It's another four issue self contained mini, and the only context you need for it is MTMTE, so it should work well for you. The art's not great (mostly the inker's fault IMO) and tbh, McCarthy, who wrote it, is not fantastic at engaging plots or creative ideas- most of his prior TF work ranges from 'fine but dull' to 'quite bad'. But it has some genuinely good character writing that lifts this one, and in my opinion the perspective it gives on Drift in MTMTE is really, really good- it lets us see what he's like when he's not 'performing' on the Lost Light, and it really helps put into perspective how that character is written in MTMTE/LL.

This is a much bigger undertaking, and possibly one best left for when you have finished MTMTE/LL, but: Robots in Disguise (later just 'The Transformers'), its ongoing sister series! It is a bit less newbie friendly than MTMTE, for sure, but especially its original run (before the crossovers etc start) is absolutely a good place to jump on. It launched as part of the same 'soft reboot' as MTMTE and with the same goal of setting a fresh status quo and bringing on new readers, and while it refrences characters and plotlines from prior runs much more, it doesn't assume you've read them and provides enough information that you'll get what's going on without having read it yourself. People sometimes suggest RiD is 'only for hardcore fans' but it was the 'main' ongoing at the time and plenty of people started with it. It's very different in tone and genre to MTMTE, do be aware, but personally I'm a big fan and think Barber deserves more credit for writing great characters in it.

Now I've given you some stuff I think you SHOULD read, I will give you my completely biased, subjective, personal anti-recommendations as a newbie. Feel free to discard these if you think you know your own taste better than me, of course!

The 'Primacy' saga, which contains Autocracy, Monstrosity and Primacy. Sometimes people recommend MTMTE fans reading this because it gives Rodimus' backstory (in Autocracy). I disagree for two main reasons. One, the whole series is infamously completely unconcerned with pre-existing IDW canon, and is written by people who cheerfully disregard it to write the story they want to write, which means it's deeply confusing re: it's role in the actual canon. And two, I think it pretty much sucks. Bad writing, near incomprehensible art, the lot. Read it once you're deep enough in The Lore TM that you can approach it as a curiosity, not when you're starting out as a new-ish reader. (And the Rodimus backstory never, ever gets explicitly referenced in MTMTE. You're good.)

Any of the toyline tie-in 'miniseries' like e.g. Titans Return, Combiner Wars. These are often bundled together in collected editions that LOOK like standalone miniseries, but they are actually tie-ins to the ongoing series, and especially tend to lean heavily on stuff happening in RiD at the time. Also, they are often just generally quite confusing and lore-heavy. Best to read those as you come to them and not right now.

The 'All Hail Megatron' miniseries. This was a 16 issue 'miniseries' by McCarthy that was the FIRST attempted 'soft reboot' IDW attempted way back in 2009-2010, and is often recommended to newbies. It was intended to be a soft new jumping on point for new readers which was self contained, which you would think means it's a good recommendation! But due to it flopping both critically and commercially and the fact that the ongoing that came AFTER it REALLY flopped critically and fans mostly hated it… a lot of stuff from there either never came up again or was massively retooled and reintroduced outright later on. And to be blunt, AHM fucking sucks IMO. It was the big IDW thing coming out when I got into TF fandom, and it was so goddamn bad it put me off reading the comics properly for nearly a DECADE, even when I saw MTMTE etc making waves by being like. Readable and good. AHM is far from the worst IDW has put out, but it's pretty dire.

I hope this wasn't too hard to follow anon!!! Sorry, I tend to ramble, but I hope you think some of these are worth checking out :) If you're struggling to find anything here btw I can always uhhhh. 'Help' acquire comics, just shoot me a message off anon so I can respond privately, ahem. ;)

[lucysarah-c]

Lucy

I need urgent help!!!

I am doing a rebrand of my fashion style, and I would like your help. I am aiming for a girly type of style. Lana del ray aesthetic, dark/light academia, plaid skirt, dollycore. If you know other names tell me about them please.

You seem like that type of girl, which lead me to ask you about this. Could you help me with how to build a closet and where to find brands that are targeted to this style.

To be honest, please just share all the brands you know. Or how to find these types of clothes.

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Hi Love! What's been in your heart lately?

I tried to reply to this as fast as I "adult-ly" could and I highlight the part of "adult-ly" because I had to be an adult today and it sucks.

OMG! Just the single thought of you thinking in me about style already brings tears to my eyes. Thank you so so much!

I adore ... that my style can even transfer the physical barrier of me not posting pictures about me but yet all of you know my style hahaha I adore it. I'm 100% an "old money/dark/light academia/preppy/cottagecore" girl.

But I'm also a student with a budget so hear me out hahaha my dream is one day open a "fashion/makeup" youtube or instagram but AFFORDABLE. People dream of running for president, I dream of helping other poor students to look fashionable. It's not much but it's a humble job.

Ok I don't know much about "brands" but I adore the style, the vibes and some of the pics they put together in this brand called "Miss Patina". Look it's quite expensive BUT BUT heard me out. I think it's expensive because "western" fashion isn't about dark academia, preppy, sweet dolly style. Therefore you should look into a certain country that basically their style is about that. Yes, I'm talking about Korea. Even if you don't speak "korean" like me, you can try to translate "dark academia style haul" really badly in google, search in youtube and look for videos of online-shopping. Even if you don't understand what they are saying, you can use "Miss patina" and other "expensive" brands for inspiration and then search for affordable options online with this method. I don’t know where you are from but Koreans, sadly, have a lot of economical problems and their appearance is quite important in the society. So they usually have more affordable nice looking clothes that fit this style.  I do this a lot, Korean clothes aren't maybe "the best" in quality but the style is "chef kiss" and usually they are quite good.

Also, adding to this. If you're going to "redo" your wardrobe, think about what you would wear EACH DAY EVERYDAY. And maybe it is worth investing in some better quality, better reviewed pieces. For example, I've 4 pairs of good quality shoes (I can't recommend the brand because it's from Argentina but) 2 oxfords (brown and deep purple), 1 loafer in black  (a classic) and one pair of mary janes in a nude colour. I've had them for like 4 years, the loafers for example, and since they are good quality they look really good. Then I've 2 coats, one black and one deep red and I adore it lol. One french coat in a nude is water resistant for more autumn/spring vibes when it's not too cold. These are more what I consider ... basics in my style so I am happy I spend money on them. Other stuff like button-up shirts, turtle neck shirts, sweaters etc. I know that I'll be running to take the train to my classes, etc. I don't want to "care" if I sweat them on a day that gets hotter or I use them and the wood kinda loses its quality. Plus, I think that replacing certain pieces of your wardrobe to fit maybe a trend of the winter that you like etc is good.

Also, think about what colours you like. There was a year I was obsessed with "stripes" and I brought a couple of sweaters with stripes. You can always buy some fun pieces that you like even if it doesn't fit "the style" you're going for. I have a sweater with KITTENS on it AND I ADORE IT. I don't care if it doesn't fit my "dead muse of a depressed poet", I love my kittens. It makes me feel good, I like it, it's enough for me. It's important that you feel yourself in your clothes.

With all that said and done, if you're still struggling to find maybe inspiration pages for outfits or even explore new brands... search in google a couple of times "preppy style, dark academia style," or send a couple of whatsapp about it and believe me that the algorithm will do it's thing LMAO I always do that when I can't find what I want.

Fashion recommendations? This is 100% MY personal opinion, I don't hold the truth... less is more (ESPECIALLY in jewellery), there's no such thing as too much black and, as my nona (grandma) would say "you carry the clothes don't let the clothes carry you," Own what you wear, own your worth and you could be wearing sweatpants and make the world turn heads for you. "make your daily life your own runway"

Hope this help! Kisses!

[brainrattlers]

Play It Cool - Tyson Jost (36/n)

Pairing: Tyson Jost x OFC (AJ)

Word Count: 2891

Chapter 35 can be found at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-35n/l1n6k0ggp18i

Start from the beginning at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza

Warnings: hmm. AJ's sick, taking meds so if you have a bad aversion to NyQuil, maybe take a pass? I don't even think there are bad words in this chapter.

Author's Notes: Short chapter, I've been under the weather, so just got some fluff today. Will get back to hockey goodness in the next chapter! For some reason, tags have not been working, so if you'd like to be directly tagged in my posts (since they're not coming up in tag searches? And Tumblr's support is failing me in solving this issue), hmu in the comments!

***

So that New Year's kiss may have happened on January 4th, but Tyson made it one hundred percent worth it. Texting from the airport, he made sure that AJ would indeed be at the hotel in about an hour.

Tyson: Not to ruin the surprise, but… you’ll be there, right?

AJ: Yep, what are you up to, Jost?

Tyson smiled, he secretly loved it when AJ called him that. She knew he was up to something, and he loved the fact it was getting to her in a fun way. Plotting little things to cause some harmless mystery and mischief, and of course making AJ smile and laugh was his favorite.

Finding his Grand Cherokee in the parking lot, Tyson hit the road, finding himself at the grocery store near the hotel before heading home. Stopping in, he picked out a few things he jotted down on his phone notepad earlier on the flight from DC. Strolling down the candy aisle with his small basket, he also threw a package of Justin’s PB Cups in for himself. Looking at his basket, everything from the list was in there, and made his way to the checkouts, and out the door.

After parking, and coming up the elevator, Tyson stood outside of their door, pulling things from the bag, including cups and sparkling cider. Inside, AJ could hear the rustling of the plastic bags and Tyson chuckling from the hallway as he texted his fiancée just inside.

Tyson: Hey babe, open the door in 10 seconds.

Tyson: 5, 4, 3, 2…

AJ opened the door, whispering “1.”

Grabbing Tyson’s face, AJ kissed him with abandon. It had been nearly a week since they’d physically been in each others’ presence. She pulled him inside, hands on the still on the sides of his face. Finding the counter next to them, Tyson was able to put the cups and bottle in his hand down on it, dropping the bag (thankfully without breakable items in it) onto the floor.  Lips melting into each other’s, the two caught up on all the kisses missed in the last week, and more than made up for the kiss missed days earlier at midnight. After a few minutes, the pair were left with dazed smiles AJ looked up into Tyson’s eyes.

“Happy New Year, Eggo. Here’s to spending this year, and many more, together.” Tyson’s eyes twinkled as he kissed AJ again. 

Breaking the embrace, Tyson went back to the kitchen counter, grabbing the sparkling apple cider and plastic champagne glasses, pouring each a glass. Before doling them out, he grabbed drastically marked down party hats and noisemakers from the grocery bag. Putting a hat on AJ and himself, he put a horn in his mouth and honked at AJ. The horn in AJ’s lips unfurled and squeaked in Tyson’s direction, leaving them both giggling, sipping on the sparkling juice.

Grabbing the extra blanket that AJ had on the bed, she headed for the sofa as Tyson clicked around on Netflix to find something to watch. She shivered under the fleece as she curled up next to him. The opening scenes of White Noise started, and the two watched intently, trying to figure out what was going on. 

As much of an Adam Driver fan AJ is, she was unable to stay awake and fell asleep shortly after the first half hour of the movie. And as the movie went on, Tyson wasn’t faring much better in the keeping awake department. The thing that woke AJ up was the song of the final credits, as she’s also a bit LCD Soundsystem fan. 

Attempting to bounce her head to the beat, it started pounding, leaving AJ shivering. Breathing in deep, her nose was clogged and she snuffled, waking Tyson instantly. Rubbing his eyes, he suddenly looked concerned.

“You feeling okay, babe?” 

AJ scrunched her eyes and sniffled loudly, wincing as she tried to stretch her arms over her head.

“I’ve been kinda tired the last day or so, I hope I’m not getting sick.”

Tyson put the back of his hand on AJ’s forehead.

“Oh no, you’re burning up. I think you’re past the getting sick level,” Tyson suddenly went into nurse mode, getting up off the sofa, “You stay put, I got this.”

“Damn it, I was working on scheduling *sniffle* places for us to go look at to live in.” AJ was more concerned about making it to the appointments.

Returning from the kitchen, large glass of water and a couple Tylenol in hand, Tyson shushed her. 

“Right now that doesn’t matter, we can find our place when you get better. Here, take these to start, and drink that whole glass of water. Gotta keep you hydrated, yeah?” Tyson gave a soft smile as he had AJ sit up to take the meds and sip on the cool water. “Will you be okay if I run back out to grab a few things from the store?”

AJ cleared her throat, nodding. Trying to not be a wimp, she attempted to get up but sat down quickly again. She motioned toward the bedroom.

“Can you grab my pillow?” Her voice was tiny.

“Of course, you stay put,” Tyson had AJ lift her head to put the pillow underneath it and tucking the blanket in around here, “I’ll be right back. Text me if you need anything, okay? Or if you want something from the store?”

“Sprite? And orange juice?”

“Of course, Eggo. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Tyson leaned down, kissing AJ’s feverish forehead.

Tyson made the quickest trip back to the same grocery store he was just at hours earlier. Grabbing a cart this time, he made his way up and down aisles, while texting his grandma.

Tyson: Hey Grandma, what’s the recipe for your chicken soup? AJ is sick, and yours always made me feel better.

A few minutes later he got a list of ingredients off his phone, they were in his cart, along with liquid NyQuil (Tyson remembered that AJ couldn’t swallow the capsules), tea, Sprite and orange juice. Tyson picked up a few other things too that he thought would make AJ more comfortable, the things that made him feel better when he was home sick. His last stop in the store was the floral counter, where he found the perfect plant for her, picking out a pot in her favorite color as well.

Rushing back home, the door was opened as silently as possible, with Tyson putting the bags on the counter. Peeking over, he found AJ snoring loudly as her nose was severely clogged. Without clanging the pots as much as he could muster, a pot of broth and shredded rotisserie chicken simmered on the one-burner stove in their small home. It wasn’t 100% his grandma’s recipe, but it was going to be as close as he could get in the time/space crunch he was working with. Tasting the broth, he added a little more garlic, and some extra spices from the cupboard. 

With a coughing fit, AJ woke up, looking around at the living room, not remembering she fell asleep there. Quickly, her nose, albeit stuffed up, smelled something delicious coming from the space behind her in the kitchen. Tyson jumped up, looking around the corner from the table to make sure AJ was alright. Once knowing she was good, he offered to help her get to the table as dinner was almost ready.

AJ sat down, still wrapped up in the blanket as two bowls of chicken noodle soup were ladeled up. Looking at the breakfast bar, a small green and white mottled leaf plant in a bright red ceramic pot caught her eye. Amused, Tyson smirked, pointing at the plant.

“I saw it and thought of you. I think it’s a… pothos? It’s a Snow Queen, according to the tag. And with everything you’ve been through in the last two months, you’re MY Snow Queen.” 

The smile that graced AJ’s face from the explanation warmed Tyson’s heart. Twice now AJ had given up most of her plants when moving to a new place, so he was hoping he could help start a new collection for their new place in Buffalo.

“Now, eat up... It isn’t quite the recipe, but pretty close. Grandma Emily sends her love and hopes you feel better soon.”

Taking a slurp of the broth and a noodle, AJ closed her eyes, letting the hot liquid ease down her throat. She appreciated that the carrots were soft. Even more appreciated is the fact that Tyson skipped the celery that is often found in chicken and noodles all together, as it’s a veg that AJ refuses to eat. Slowly, the bowl of soup in front of her disappeared, helping her shivers disappear a bit as well. 

Once their bowls were empty (Tyson might have had a second one), AJ attempted to get up and grab both of them, heading to the sink.

“Huh uh, you go either to the couch or bed… I got this,” Tyson gently took the bowls from AJ’s hands, “You need to rest.”

“But you cooked, I need to do the dishes,” AJ squeaked out.

Tyson put the bowls and silverware on the counter next to the sink, “Not this time. Next time, when I’m sick, you can cook and do the dishes while I rest, you know? I got you babe, you’re benched the rest of the  night.” 

AJ frowned, but then chuckled at his choice of words. Finding her way back to the chaise part of the sofa, she propped herself up with her pillow to help with her cough and congestion. Tyson looked over the counter to see her clicking on something on Hulu, starting an episode. The opening credits hadn’t even started, and the snores from her stuffy nose were already happening as he filled the sink with hot water to wash the dishes. He let her doze as he finished up.

Looking at his watch, Tyson grabbed a bottle from the bag of groceries that still sat on the end of the counter from earlier.  Popping off the little plastic shot glass, he eyeballed the red syrupy liquid that came out until it was at the top line.

“Hey baby girl, I need you to wake up,” Tyson gingerly touched AJ’s arm, “C’mon, it’s medicine time.”

AJ grumbled and opened her eyes, sensing the vile red liquid in the shot glass was not indeed a tasty shot. Finally awake enough, the cup was put in her fingers and then turned her lip up at it in a cringe, knowing how bad it was going to taste. But getting up the courage, she attempted to shoot it as fast as possible, taking it in two gulps. The horrific taste left her gagging slightly.

“IT IS SOOO BAD, ewwww,” AJ was being a little overdramatic, flailing a bit. She got quiet, thinking about something for a few minutes, forgetting the taste that was still lingering in her mouth. “Do you want me to sleep on the sofa? I don’t want to get you sick babe.”

To be honest, she probably already had exposed him with that make-up New Year’s kiss. 

Tyson thought about it as well, coming to the same conclusion. “I want you to sleep where you’ll feel most comfortable, where you’ll actually get rest. If that’s the sofa where you can prop yourself up, sleep there. If you want to sleep in bed, by all means.”

“But you need your rest too… you’re the one that has to play Saturday, and practice, and…” AJ got quiet, and started staring at a spot on the floor, although nothing was there.

The NyQuil was hitting, and Tyson could tell.

“Even if you choose the bed, I’m staying there with you. I think you’re going to be pretty out of it here quick anyway.” Tyson smiled as AJ completely zoned out, intensely looking at seemingly nothing.

Leaving AJ in her cold medicine-induced trance, he took the few moments to grab a pair of pajama pants and a tanktop for AJ. Before he had her decide where she wanted to crash for the night, he made sure she was comfy in what clothes he picked out. Eventually, AJ indicated she wanted to sleep in bed, requesting a pile of pillows to keep her head up and hopefully not coughing all night. She was still coherent enough she was worried that Tyson wouldn’t get any sleep, but he had one more trick up his sleeve, or rather, in the bag in the kitchen.

While not his favorite scent, it was something that always helped him when he was younger and struggling with a cold. Opening the little blue jar, he scrunched his nose at the smell as his fingers swept up a dollop of VapoRub and smeared it on AJ’s exposed skin above her collar of her top, and put a little just under her nose. The goo was already doing it’s thing as her nose started to run a bit, and she didn’t feel like coughing. An extra box of lotioned tissues was put on her nightstand to make sure her nose wasn’t going to get all red and cracked from blowing it too much.

Tyson really had thought of everything.

AJ was out like a light, and a groggy mess come morning. Tyson was up early, getting ready for the morning’s practice, when he heard AJ honking while blowing her nose in the other room. Peeking in, he noticed that she had a little more color to her face (that wasn’t the dark circles under her eyes). She caught him checking in, and noticed how tired HE looked.

“Please tell me I didn’t keep you up all night?” AJ croaked out, throat dry from sleeping with her mouth open to breathe as her nose was still stuffy.

“Naw, I ended up sleeping on the sofa after you kinda starfished in bed. We have this giant king size bed here and you may be tiny, but… yeah. You kinda took over.” Tyson smiled and chuckled, just happy that she did get some sleep. “I just wasn’t used to the sofa, that’s all. I’ll be fine with a nap after practice. You feel like some more soup for breakfast? I can heat you up a bowl if you’d like.”

With a nod, Tyson jumped up and grabbed a bowl and the extra soup from the fridge, heating it up as he finished his own bowl of cereal. AJ made her way slowly to the little dining table, sitting down and rubbing her head. A glass of water and shot of DayQuil was already waiting for her. She had been single so long prior to Tyson coming into her life, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had someone to take care of her when she felt crummy, and despite the obvious feeling ill, she felt mentally better knowing someone was looking out for her.

Bowl of soup in front of her, Tyson kissed AJ’s forehead while putting the spoon on the wooden table.

“Well you don’t feel like a raging inferno this morning,” He kissed her forehead again just because, “feeling better at least?”

She truly was, although not one-hundred percent. But was happy that at least her eyes and ears didn’t feel like she was cooking from the inside out. The soup felt amazing, helping her face and throat hurt less.

“I’ll be back in a few hours. Rest! And stay hydrated, your OJ and Sprite are in the fridge. Text me if you need anything.” Tyson put on his backpack and blew a kiss from the doorway.

Finishing up her soup, AJ put on the latest season of Letterkenny and grabbed a big glass, filling it half and half between the soda and juice. Settling in on the sofa, she sipped the drink and laughed at the jokes. A text from Laura came in asking how she was feeling - Tyson obviously said something to Grandma Emily and word likely spread. The two chatted back and forth a few minutes until sleep took hold after the warmth of the soup and blanket lulled her to sleep.

Not knowing what he was going to come back to, but figuring from the lack of texts, Tyson was quiet as a mouse once home from practice and again the grocery store. When AJ had emerged on the other side of her migraines, she always craved a handful of things, so he figured this would be no different and picked them up. Leaning down over the arm of the sofa, the back of his hand grazed her forehead again, making sure the fever never came back. She stirred slightly, but was out like a light again. He took advantage and snagged about an hour’s worth of nap time in bed, without her sprawling limbs taking up the space.

Until they weren’t, because that’s exactly what woke him up. But AJ’s limbs weren’t sprawling, they were curling up into him, wrapping around his torso. She smelled a bit of another shot of DayQuil and some VapoRub, but he didn’t care. The fact she got up, took some more meds, and willingly climbed into bed were signs she was on the up and up.

Chapter 37 is posted! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-37n/hxfl33gkhrv2